Move Forward’s hopes of leading Thailand’s government dashed with court challenge rejection
- Any hope of the election-winning party forming a government was all but killed off by the Constitutional Court’s decision on Wednesday
- Its rejection of a request to review the blocking of party leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the PM post paves the way for another vote on who will lead
The move all but kills off any hope of the progressive Move Forward leading the next government and paves the way for the legislature to hold another vote on a prime minister as soon as this week.
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The court in its decision said it declined to accept the case because it was lodged by a group of more than 20 individuals that did not include the prime ministerial candidate himself.
“Their rights were not violated and they did not have the rights to file the complaint,” it said of the petitioners, in what was a unanimous decision.
Allies of Move Forward had petitioned the court to decide on the legality of a July 19 decision by lawmakers to prevent Pita from being nominated for prime minister for a second time after his failure at the first attempt.
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Thailand’s parliament will meet to vote on a new prime minister on August 22, house speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha told reporters on Wednesday.
Move Forward won the May election with huge youth and urban support for its liberal policy platform, posing a threat to business monopolies and the military’s political power.
But its effort to form a government failed to win enough support, with broad opposition to its plan to amend a law designed to insulate the monarchy from criticism.
